The First Cash & Go in Estonia

In the autumn of 2014
the national deposit system in Estonia (EPP) opened a bottle redemption center
at the outskirts of Tallinn. The new redemption center receives used beverage
containers (cans, PET bottles, one-way and refillable glass) in bulk from the
public.

The center is
equipped with the latest model of the Cash & Go machine from Anker Andersen
A/S, which is capable of counting and handling the empties with a speed of up to
300 containers/minute. The PET bottles and cans are sorted and forwarded into
20’ press containers in order to minimize the volume of the containers and to optimize
transportation costs and thus reducing the CO2 emission. One-way
glass bottles are sent into special containers. Refillable glass bottles are stored
in crates for reintroduction at the breweries’ filling lines.

The
redemption center has a footprint of 9.0 x 5.0 meters with a designated customer
area of 1.5 x 4.0 meters, where the beverage containers are filled into the bulk
feeder for processing. The customer interacts with the touch screen to start
and finish the counting. When the counting is finished, the customer will get a
receipt, which can be used at a supermarket center nearby.

The public
has received the introduction of this new technology overwhelmingly, and the
average amount of received beverage containers is about 16,000 empties per day,
with a peak as high as 32,000 empties/day.

The managing
director of the Estonian EPP, Mr Rauno Raal, comments:

“Already several years ago, we established that there is a heavy demand
for versatile and revolutionary solutions in return logistics. The return of used
beverage containers has to be as convenient for the consumers as possible, and
there is a large number of consumers, especially private house owners,
hotels, restaurants and catering companies, who prefer to return their beverage
containers only once per quarter or once per year. This means larger quantities
and thanks to Anker Andersen A/S’ Cash & Go machine, it has now been
possible to return such quantities much more conveniently and quicker”.